Battle a Seventh-tier (Part 2)

"Whew—" Ling Mo let out a long breath, drew Ksitigarbha Soul from the Imaginary Space, and held it before him. He said to Gao Yingjie ahead of him, "Captain, be careful."

Gao Yingjie replied without concern, "Heh, come at me."

"Whoosh—"

The moment his words fell, a bright blade flash streaked past. Gao Yingjie's chest was instantly slashed open by the long blade, blood spraying everywhere.

"Wha—!"

Only reacting under the stimulus of pain, Gao Yingjie immediately raised his shield and swung it at Ling Mo, intending to force him back. Yet just as the shield was about to strike Ling Mo, Ling Mo suddenly shot backward at an utterly unnatural speed. As he retreated, dozens of sword qi instantly appeared around Gao Yingjie, enveloping him.

With nowhere to dodge, Gao Yingjie was not the least bit flustered. He roared, and golden light-element energy burst from his body. The signature skill of a Seventh-tier Paladin—Body of Radiance.

The sword qi melted away the instant it came into contact with the golden light, unable to harm Gao Yingjie in the slightest! But just as he thought the attack had ended, the dazzling blade flash appeared again! Prepared this time, Gao Yingjie immediately raised his shield to block. Even so, he was still one step slower than Ling Mo. His chest was torn open once more, and the Seventh-tier skill Body of Radiance had completely failed to provide any defense!

With no time to think, Gao Yingjie immediately chose to widen the distance between himself and Ling Mo. The golden binding chains rattled loudly with his movements. But how could Ling Mo let him leave so easily?

Before Gao Yingjie had retreated more than a few steps, the blade flashed for a third time. Ling Mo instantly appeared before him. Just as Ksitigarbha Soul was about to slash across him again, a sudden change occurred!

A brilliant silver radiance shot into the sky with Gao Yingjie at its center. Under that silver light, Mimic Judas's binding chains shattered inch by inch. Freed from control, silver-white armor swiftly encased him. The magic power condensing around them also slowed Ling Mo's sword swing by half a beat, and Gao Yingjie seized the chance to rapidly raise his shield. Shield bash!

Ling Mo was not flustered after failing to land the blow. He used Assault Flow Slash again to retreat backward, and sword qi rose once more. But this time, Gao Yingjie directly ignored the sword qi around him, allowing it to strike his armor. Ling Mo's figure appeared again, and the sword qi vanished. Gao Yingjie, standing where he was, was completely unharmed. His silver armor remained magnificent and dazzling, and even the sword qi had failed to leave a single mark upon it. But could it really be that simple?

"I have to say, you're quite impressive. To force me to bring out this suit of armor, you have every reason to be proud. But with your Fourth-tier strength, trying to cross three major tiers and defeat me, a Seventh-tier, is still far from enough. Next, I'll be a little more serious. You all should be careful." Gao Yingjie did not stint on his praise for Ling Mo, but in his eyes, this group of children was still too young and far too fanciful.

However, Ling Mo, standing not far away, showed no intention of continuing. He calmly shook his head at him.

Seeing this, Gao Yingjie asked, "What do you mean? Planning to admit defeat?"

Ling Mo did not explain. He merely said flatly, "Captain, it's already over."

As soon as he spoke, before Gao Yingjie could say anything, alarm bells rang wildly in his heart! A sense of danger began frantically stimulating his nerves. Familiar sword qi appeared once more, but unlike the smooth, flowing sword qi that had poured down before, sharp and violent sword qi erupted outward from within Gao Yingjie's body!

Blade Reversal was one of the sword techniques Yae Sakura had taught Ling Mo with the highest instantaneous burst power. In the game of his original world, it could achieve up to a tenfold burst. In reality, however, its upper limit was constrained by the limit of what the body could withstand. With Ksitigarbha Soul's enhancement, even against a Seventh-tier like Gao Yingjie, if he did not understand Blade Reversal, Ling Mo could even kill him outright!

Gao Yingjie could not help coughing up a mouthful of blood as he dropped to one knee. He braced himself with one hand on his sword. Naturally, Ling Mo would not truly kill Gao Yingjie, but Gao Yingjie had been seriously injured after taking that Blade Reversal. By the standards of a spar, he had already lost. That was why Ling Mo had said the match was over.

Gao Yingjie's judgment had not been wrong. For a group of Fourth-tier and Fifth-tier brats to defeat a mature Seventh-tier powerhouse was nothing but a fantasy. Moreover, Gao Yingjie was no ordinary Seventh-tier knight. By now, Ling Mo had also recalled the origin of that suit of armor. Clearly, Gao Yingjie was a Mithril Base Knight, making their chances of victory even lower. Under normal circumstances, that was how it should have been. But unfortunately, reality was full of surprises.

Martial souls were part of Ling Mo's strength, but not all of it. As a Fusion Warrior in his previous life, Ling Mo had not feared even Herrschers, much less now that he could wield Herrscher Authority. That was right. Although his Herrscher Authority was limited, and although he was far weaker than in his previous life, how could Gao Yingjie's strength compare to the enemies he had faced then? Gao Yingjie was not even a match for Parvati. After all, Parvati was a Judgment-class Honkai Beast. Destroying an entire city in an instant was effortless for it. If their positions were reversed, Gao Yingjie would have had a hard time even facing an A-rank Valkyrie squad led by an S-rank Valkyrie, let alone high-damage weapons. During the era of Fire Forging Moth, there had been at least several thousand such squads.

This wave? This wave is a Sub-dimensional Strike. Ling Mo thought to himself. He took out Black Abyss White Flower and walked to Gao Yingjie's side, driving its spear tip into the ground. White flowers scattered and bloomed, while Gao Yingjie's injuries slowly recovered at a visible rate.

A short while later, Gao Yingjie rose to his feet, his injuries mostly healed. Looking at his own hand, he clenched it into a fist and said, "I didn't expect you to have healing skills as well. Combat, healing, and even the ability to summon a peak Seventh-tier magical beast—you can nearly fulfill all the roles of six positions by yourself. You've truly surprised me."

"However,"

Gao Yingjie's tone shifted as he continued to Ling Mo, "While knowing many things is certainly good, spreading yourself too thin will make it harder for you to advance further than others. So my suggestion is to choose one path and specialize in it. It will benefit you in the future. But there's no need to rush. It won't be too late to decide once you feel your energy is no longer enough to support learning everything."

Ling Mo listened quietly without saying anything. He understood his own situation, and Gao Yingjie's intentions were good, but the advice simply did not apply to him. Afterward, Gao Yingjie evaluated and corrected the others based on this spar.

"All right, those were the mistakes you made in this battle. Aside from coordination within the team, you can slowly correct all of them during this trial."

Gao Yingjie looked at everyone before him and continued, "I lost this battle, and I will not deny it. Perhaps after becoming a Mithril Base Knight, I had been confident for too long and forgot a knight's humility. This is also a lesson for me. I thank you all for reminding me that no opponent should ever be underestimated, no matter how weak they may appear in your eyes. I will fulfill my promise. At the Barracks, if you take part in battle, I will serve as your accompanying knight, follow your command, and all merit earned will belong to your team."

At this, Long Haochen and the others revealed delighted expressions. Was this not the main goal of the battle? With a genuine Seventh-tier powerhouse joining them, it was practically an early declaration that they would claim first place. How could they not be thrilled?